


Friend/Brother/Lover: T’hy’la and Queer Themes in Vulcan History

by Reyka_Sivao



Category: Star Trek
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 14:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21411946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyka_Sivao/pseuds/Reyka_Sivao
Summary: Originally published in XenoAnth Monthly. An essay on same-sex couples in Vulcan history.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Friend/Brother/Lover: T’hy’la and Queer Themes in Vulcan History

Vulcans, with their cultural practice of heterosexual arranged marriage, are often assumed to be necessarily straight. However, they have a long if poorly-documented history of same sex relationships of various types. The key term to suggest that these relationships are present is the endearment T’hy’la. 

On Vulcan, the vast majority of marriages are arranged at the behest of clan matriarchs when the bride and groom are only around seven years of age. These marriages, while not consummated until adulthood, are nevertheless under most circumstances in this considered binding to both parties—unless the woman invokes the koon-ut kal-if-fee and challenges the bridegroom for possession of her. 

[See: Marriage Practices of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, Shinahr zh’Vesrat, 2348]

There is only one mainstream alternative to these arrangements: the rite of Kohlinar, the Vulcan philosophical/mystical practice of total divorce from emotional response. This was the most appealing option for those who sought celibacy, but was also sometimes used as an escape hatch by those who were entirely same-sex attracted and unable to endure the thought of being in a heterosexual marriage. 

However, while the vast majority of Vulcans in premodern times were engaged in heterocentric marriages, this did not exclude deeply intimate and frequently sexual same-sex relationships. The term generally used for these relationships was ‘T’hy’la’. 

T’hy’la as a concept is often misunderstood in the Federation as a whole. When the term is known at all, it is usually translated as “friend”, though more sophisticated translations will include the meanings of “brother/lover”. (Almost never is “sister” included in the possibilities, despite the fact that that female T’hy’la pairs are as well attested as male.)

Given this, it might be assumed that ‘T’hy’la’ simply means “lover”, and that the friend/brother/sister meanings are superfluous. This is not the case. The core meaning of T’hy’la has to do with a kind of deep and abiding emotional and mental intimacy. Sexual intimacy, while certainly not precluded, is not the primary connotation. 

Indeed, it has some resonance with the term queerplatonic, relationships that are, while platonic rather than romantic in nature, nonetheless carry the weight of intimacy and commitment more often associated with romantic relationships. Vulcan culture in general has a far less defined distinction between romantic and platonic relationships, and therefore trying to categorize further would do a disservice to understanding. 

It is also fairly common to assume that T’hy’la relationships are monogamous if sexual. This is also not the case. Most members of same-sex T’hy’la partnerships are, in fact, in male-female marriages as well. Marriages on Vulcan are seen as functional rather than intimate partnerships, and so it is far from rare for a couple to consummate their marriage and raise the resulting children together while being emotionally and sexually intimate with a T’hy’la at the same time. It is rarer, though not unheard of in Vulcan history, for T’hy’la pairs to be entirely exclusive. 

As in more recent history and especially during the time after the establishment of the Federation, same-sex marriage has become more accessible and accepted, some same-sex Vulcan couples are now foregoing the term T’hy’la and instead adopting more traditionally heterocentric terms such as adun/aduna (“beloved”), and ko- or sa-telsu (wife/husband). However, others still prefer the traditional term. 

Either way, queer relationships exist and have always existed in Vulcan society, both inside and outside of recognized marriages, and those who called one another T’hy’la are at the core of this history. 

[Excerpt, Friend/Brother/Lover: T’hy’la and Queer Themes in Vulcan History, published in XenoAnth Monthly, 2475]


End file.
